Saban on NFL rumors: ‘I don’t think it’s really fair to leave’

Posted by Ben Kercheval on December 17, 2012, 7:00 PM EST

AP

The Nick Saban-to-Cleveland Browns rumors won’t go away even though Saban himself will deny them and we here at CFT have zero reason — none — to believe there’s a lot of truth to them. As a result, Saban’s going to continue to answer any and all questions about another possible stint in the NFL.

Appearing on The Dan LeBatard Show in Miami, Saban talked more about why he would stay at Alabama rather than why he would or wouldn’t try his fortune at the next level again.

“College football has been very good for us,” Saban said. “The positive impact that you can have on these young men as players and as people, that’s just something that we really enjoy and something that I learned about myself.

“I really enjoy what I’m doing here right now. I’m getting old now. I don’t think we’ve got too many moves left in us. You develop a lot of relationships and loyalties to the players you recruit and the players you have on the team and the people you have in the organization. I don’t think it’s really fair to leave. I regretted when I left LSU because I left a lot of relationships there. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay here for a long, long time.”

Saban has a tremendous talent for spending minutes on end talking without ever really saying anything, but I actually tend to believe most of what he said to LeBatard — to a degree. Saban has a great thing going in Tuscaloosa, and even though he’s playing for his third BCS championship in four years, I don’t get the feeling that he feels like he’s done everything he can do for the program.

If Saban wins a couple (or few, or handful) more national championships with the Tide, though? We might be talking about a different story. And, granted, reading another man’s mind is impossible and trying to gauge Saban is even harder if you can believe that. Not to mention coaches in general can be fickle. They get an idea in their head and, boom, they’re gone.

As I’m sure all of us can recall, Saban wasn’t leaving the Miami Dolphins before he was, so take what he says for what it’s worth.

Saban’s a hell of a coach and the college game is fortunate to have him. I do believe it’s a legit question to ask how long before Saban wants another crack at the NFL. I don’t, however, believe it’ll be in the next few months.

yes be4 envy is ugly, after ND finishes the job of exposing Bama like TAMU started I can see it now. “It was unfair, their players could all read so they had an unfair advantage, they go so lucky they could read but we all know who the true champion is”

Bama is a soft over rated team, your two big victories were against an lSU team nowhere near as good as last year and GA (which the number of mistakes made by GA especially the last three minutes was comical. They just gave the game away). Then you pad you schedule with the power houses like western kentucky and eastern carolina and florida atlantic. Then get exposed for the weak team you really are by TAMU. Bama is so over rated, the fans are so over confident. This game is going to be comical as BAMA fans have their jaws on the floor in disbelief. If you do that just dont pass out another bama fan may try to drop his twig and berries on your chin. You bama fans like to do that right

irishtn says:Dec 17, 2012 8:11 PM

P. S. definitely stay classy Nicky and all you Bama Trolls do the same.

Scumbags drop twig and berries on passed out college fans, scumbags poison tree’s. Scumbags take part in selling gear for tattoo’s and clothes just like Ohio State players and then get it brushed under the carpet.

Oh wait I described Bama players and fans. LMFAO…have a nice day troll

Deb says:Dec 17, 2012 8:36 PM

Actually, Ben, I don’t recall when Saban wasn’t leaving Miami just before he was. I recall a guy telling reporters 42 gazillion times that he didn’t want to talk about it while Miami’s season was still in progress. When they asked 42 gazillion and 1 times, he finally got exasperated and said “I’m not going to Alabama.” At the time, nothing had been finalized with Bama. But still, what he should have said was “Piss off.”

All I want now is for him to keep the team focused for the title game. After that, I hope he’ll stay. But if he wants to try the pros again, I’ll wish him well.

No your school just covers up rapes and allows a student to be killed with no punishment to the coaching staff.

Also to the other Notre Dame fan that thinks you will finish exposing Alabama; you need a passing game to do that. Notre Dames offense is nowhere as talented as A&M, UGA, or LSU. Your defense is very good and will make this a hard fought game, but you might want to put the koolaid down and slow your roll.

kattykathy says:Dec 17, 2012 9:11 PM

Why would Saban want to go back to the NFL?

He has a much bigger salary cap at Bama pay his players.

irishtn says:Dec 17, 2012 9:12 PM

You should puts yours down, your schedule was pathetic, 3 fcs teams (western kentucky, eastern carolina, florida atlantic) A terrible TN, auburn, and arkansas teams. A LSU team no where near as good as they were last year, and a Georgia team that did everything they could due to bad coach calls the last few minutes of that game to hand you victory. Bama is not scary, they simply played a very weak schedule. Oh GA overall offensive ranking 78, ND 49. Not to mention none of those teams have the defense ND does. You have proof of the above statements? Can you show me court convictions????Thought so.

Please your team is weak, they played a weak schedule, bama has seen no one that is as good as ND all year, oh wait tamu bent you over while bama took turns patting johhny footballs pecker for good luck. They have a better offense but nowhere near our defense.

Your team rode into the NC on a weak schedule and past teams. Your lucky to even be here, if Ohio St was on probation the two unbeaten teams should play. Count your, whatever people in bama count (teeth left, family members you slept with, animals you violated) You don’t count blessings do you? Be happy your over rated team is even here and sit back and take the whooping like a man/woman…does it really matter in bama

Actually, Deb, you DO recall when he said he wasn’t leaving Miami right before he did. You quoted it in your post: it’s when he said, “I’m not going to Alabama.” And then he did.

If you think his lying is somehow excused because the press (accurately!) determined that he was likely to leave and were such meanies to keep asking him about it, that’s your prerogative. But it doesn’t erase the lie.

lol…dude…you are trying too hard. I know it’s been a generation or so since your team has had a shot at something like this, but the secret is to insult the opposing fan base of the defending national champions AFTER you whip them.

You see, if that’s the case, I suspect we’ll not have to endure your tortured grammar and fractured syntax for at least another generation.

suprmous says:Dec 17, 2012 10:02 PM

irishtn, fore I start I’d like to remind one to stick her fingers in her ears as shes said she doesn’t much care for me, what I post, ……. When you rant and rave please keep this in mind: many times thru the years I had the pleasure of runnin into fans of ND both at their campus and UA’s campus, I can say this without hesitation some of those particular fans were nice but some were downright nasty. So I suggest that you calling Bama’s team weak is nonsense. Their schedule on the other hand was a bit unbalanced but as it be that’s the way it was. You speak of LSU in the same thread. Bein a transplant: raised in a house with 3 that played for the Bear and who’s an LSU fan I take a bit of offense when somebody strikes down the quality of LSU. I’ve seen LSU teams that gave Bama teams fits just as what LSU would give ND given the chance on a good day. Your assessment of the people of Alabama couldn’t be more wrong. There are some good people in Alabama. Granted they may not live as what most do in Indiana but by God they’re still some good people and willing to help if you need it. From the tn at the end of your username I take it you’re from Tennessee. Course I can be wrong. But if you are can you remember the name Bill Battle? He gave the Bear all he could. Same with Bama’s team now. They’ve given their all at times, maybe not up to your standards but they’ve done a damned good job at it. I’m not crazy about Saban but that’s besides the point. I’m just sayin that to say what you have about the people of Alabama is a bit wrong. And as for their football team, at least I can say their “uppidness” doesn’t a hold a candle to ND’s.

Deb says:Dec 17, 2012 10:03 PM

@redvenomweb …

Baby, work on your reading skills.

BEN: “As I’m sure all of us can recall, Saban wasn’t leaving the Miami Dolphins before he was …”

DEB: “I don’t recall when Saban wasn’t leaving Miami just before he was.”

Yes, dear, as I posted, I DO recall when he SAID he wasn’t leaving Miami, however, I DON’T recall when he ACTUALLY WASN’T leaving Miami. Those are two different things. Sorry that whizzed over your head.

I didn’t make any excuse for him lying, certainly didn’t say the press were “meanies” for doing their jobs. I simply put the situation in context and stated quite clearly that instead of lying, he should have told the press to “Piss off.” He made a poor choice.

Anybody expecting truthiness out of any football coach is either very naive, or doesn’t understand how the coaching carousel works.

The NFL is unfinished business for Saban, and he has a big enough ego that he has to give it one more shot before he hits 65. It probably won’t come as head coach of the Browns. They’re a pathetic franchise and he might not have enough years left to turn them around…you don’t recruit anything but free agents in the league.

Saban will leave ‘Bama for the NFL…but until then, it wouldn’t be good business to tip his hand. He’ll say he’s staying with the Tide, until he’s not. It worked before, for Saban and others. It’s how the game is played.

why is this raging egomaniac even talking about this topic? saban’s ego is so gigantic that he craves every NFL teams attention also. what a douchebag this guy is. a total disgrace to society. i know he has a major little man syndrome and tries to compensate it in other ways, probably attempts to drive a big truck too, while sitting on a phone book. anyway this guy is trash and these lemming bama morons in here supporting this guy proves how dumb and inbred they are

Deb says:Dec 18, 2012 12:00 AM

@midwestwarrior …

He’s talking about it because they asked. And you seem mighty obsessed with the guy for someone soooo concerned about feeding his gigantic ego.

Shake. Lmao. Sorry I was just Lmao the whole time I wrote it. Thanks dumb.

redvenomweb says:Dec 18, 2012 1:33 AM

Deb, the reason why Ben says that Saban “wasn’t leaving Miami just before he was” is because Ben, like many other people, was naive and gullible enough to *actually believe* the words coming out of Saban’s own mouth.

But if you want to argue that Saban didn’t even mean that AS HE SAID IT, then you also have to believe that Saban was lying (again!) at his Alabama press conference, when he claimed that he meant that statement at the time he made it, and changed his mind 4 days later.

Then again, is it ever difficult to believe that any given statement from Nick Saban was a lie?

BEN: “As I’m sure all of us can recall, Saban wasn’t leaving the Miami Dolphins before he was …”

DEB: “I don’t recall when Saban wasn’t leaving Miami just before he was.”

Yes, dear, as I posted, I DO recall when he SAID he wasn’t leaving Miami, however, I DON’T recall when he ACTUALLY WASN’T leaving Miami. Those are two different things. Sorry that whizzed over your head.

I didn’t make any excuse for him lying, certainly didn’t say the press were “meanies” for doing their jobs. I simply put the situation in context and stated quite clearly that instead of lying, he should have told the press to “Piss off.” He made a poor choice.

You’re very slow, aren’t you?

——————————————

Nice double negative

florida727 says:Dec 18, 2012 8:32 AM

#irishtn, before you criticize Alabama’s schedule, try looking at your own, without the obvious bias.

Keeping in mind that these are all HOME games, where you’d think you’d be most dominant, look at the results:

Did you win them all? Yes you did. Congratulations. But if you think you have a “dominant” team, you’re delusional. 5 wins by a combined 23 points is far from dominant. Talk about having things to get exposed. Your team is loaded with them, and Saban has a freaking month to prepare.

I’d be careful about running your mouth too early. As another post said, brag AFTER (and IF) you win, not before. Like the old saying goes, “better to be quiet and let others think you’re a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt”.

to this florida727 guy, how did saban fare when he had a “month” to prepare for that powerhouse utah team in the sugar bowl a few years ago? why do you all seem to forget that game? isn’t the genius saban with a month to prepare supposed to eat teams like utah for lunch? well what happened there you SEC homering hack? give us some insight

The man told a lie. The lie was “I am not the next head football coach at Alabama” and then he was. When you tell a lie, that means you are a liar. It’s pretty much that simple. You have about as much character as “I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky”.

normtide says:Dec 18, 2012 9:14 AM

That moth ball smell in the air is the Irish fans breaking out their ND gear, been a long time since they could.

I am a Gator fan, and hope he stay’s I love the SEC being the strongest conference in football and he is a big reason we are the best conference in college football….Go Gators

normtide says:Dec 18, 2012 10:37 AM

Tlmoon- under that thought, we are all liars. I believe everyone had told a lie at some point. All coaches do that, I remember Tubberville saying he would only leave Oxford in a pine box. Coaches have the right to change jobs, just like we all do. No coach is going to say it during a season, and have his team give up. The only fact here is, that some people hold others to a higher standard then they hold themselves to. You call the man a liar, like you have never spoken anything but the truth.

Sure I’m a homer for the Crimson Tide. That being said, I find it fascinating that ND thinks Alabama played a weak schedule and conveniently forgets the common foe, Michigan.

Alabama beat Michigan easily to open the season when Michigan was ranked # 8 @ Jerry’s World 41-14.

ND needed 6 turnovers to beat Michigan 13-6 @ South Bend.

I fully expect nothing short of a great National Championship game. If the game is close in the third quarter, I fully expect Alabama to beat the
snot out of the Irish front seven and jam the ball
down their throats. Fatigue by that time will be evident and ND doesn’t have the hosses to keep up.

Roll Tide.

normtide says:Dec 18, 2012 10:41 AM

I would like to add, if Saban wants to go back to the NFL, I prefer he lies at this point. I want his team ready to play. Saying it now would hurt this team. Just like saying he was going to Alabama would have hurt his team in Miami.

macbull says:Dec 18, 2012 10:41 AM

There will be NO high profile coach coming to Cleveland, if they must report to Joe Banner.

Banner’s history is well known among NFL players as well as coaches in college and the NFL.. Also, Banner’s power struggle with Andy Reid is well documented.

I have serious doubts that a high profile coach such as Nick Saban, who is accustomed to having total control over his football program, would take a job where he must report to Joe Banner.

Banner’s accomplishments should not to be overlooked but it should be understood, his accomplishments and successes have been on the “fiscal” side of a franchise and not on the football side. Banner has never been in charge of the football side of an NFL franchise, until now.

If the Browns rookie owner, Jimmy Haslam would move Banner back to the fiscal side, where all his experience is and allow Saban to have full control of the football side, then Saban might consider the HC position with the Browns.

…but I seriously doubt that Browns fans will ever see Nick Saban reporting to Joe Banner.

dcroz says:Dec 18, 2012 10:57 AM

It strikes me as funny that most of the talking heads at ESPN and elsewhere who are so convinced that Saban is leaving for the NFL are not college football reporters; they’re either NFL guys or all-purpose, jack-of-all-trades types. They keep focusing on his “I’m not going to be the next head coach at Alabama” line and some pop psychology about how he must be getting bored with winning and how his ego wants to erase his failure in the NFL as reasons why he is most definitely leaving for a job that–last time I checked–wasn’t even open yet. They don’t watch enough college football (Alabama especially) to question how Saban’s screaming at his third string’s mistakes in the closing minutes of a 49-0 win constitutes boredom, or why a bored person would still be putting in 14-plus-hour days, or how boring it must be putting together yet another top-tier recruiting class. If this is boredom, I’d hate to see what motivated looks like.

They also overlook how Saban has said time and again that one of his biggest regrets was leaving LSU. He realizes that he had something great going on in Baton Rouge, that he could have had an epic run there had he remained, and that he walked away from all that to scratch an itch that turned out to be a bust. His experience at Miami taught him that he is a college coach, that his famed “process” is next to impossible to implement in a league where the players have more control than the coaches (which was not the NFL Saban left a decade before to become head coach at Michigan State), and that he enjoys having total control over a program rather than sharing authority with a GM or owner. His personal style is in tune with the college game, not the pro one. He also knows he got really lucky to land one of the few jobs in college that was actually better than the one he had left in Baton Rouge, and that he has been able to build the same kind of powerhouse program that he had going down on the bayou.

And then there’s what he has built in Tuscaloosa. He’s in the middle of a historic run, and if he can win his third title in four years next month, he will not only become just the third coach to do so in the poll era (along with Frank Leahy and Tom Osbourne) but he will be in position to be the first at the FBS level to win three straight as the Tide will once again start next season in the top five, if not at the very top. Opportunities like that only come around once in…well, I’m not sure it ever has come around before. Plus, he has become a civic leader in the city, especially after last year’s devastating tornado. He has established firm roots in the community, his wife Terry is happy there (she hated it in Miami, as she has often said), and he has a unique shot at history; all that tends to point to him sticking around a while longer.

Now, Saban may indeed turn his back on all that yet again for one more shot at the pros. Despite all that, perhaps that NFL itch has resurfaced and he does want one more stab at it. But somehow I have a feeling that this time he appreciates his current situation and is going to stay put for a while longer.

waynefontes says:Dec 18, 2012 11:25 AM

Nick Saban is a great coach. But as far as rumors of him leaving for another job go.. Nick, just be quiet.

You’ve already proven that you aren’t the most honorable man when it comes to talking about a potential future job.

I don’t think any Bama fan will fault you or hold it against you if you want to leave to try and take on the NFL, whenever it is.

@Normtide – if Nick shot up a school, you’d find a way to justify it because he’s YOUR coach and he wins. For you the ends justify the means, much like politicians in Washington. There is NOTHING this man can do that you wont justify as long as he wins for you, that is plain and simple fact. When I say ‘you’, I mean Alabama fans as a whole…not just you personally.

dcroz says:Dec 18, 2012 11:59 AM

tlmoon2112:

Really, you went there? The funerals in Connecticut are just starting, but you decided it was time to go there? I think that say more about you and your character than anything you’ve said about Nick Saban in the last one hundred venomous posts on him you’ve made combines.

dcroz says:Dec 18, 2012 11:59 AM

*that says and *combined. Ben and JT: when can we get an edit function on here?

I suppose I could have said “If Nick molested his football players, you’d find a way to justify it”.

Better??

normtide says:Dec 18, 2012 12:38 PM

Tlmoon- not speaking for all fans, but I ain’t that shallow. Being a good football coach does not excuse ones behavior. Coach Fran did the same thing to Alabama, said he want leaving, told his players to”hold that rope”, and then bolted for TA&M. Now, as a fan I was upset, but after a few months I let it go. I don’t consider him a liar our POS, he did what he felt was best for his family. As a father, I fully understand that. And, to put it bluntly, I don’t want a coach who doesn’t want to be there. This is the way coaching operates in todays big money football. I +try+ not to hold grudges, life is to short. What’s the saying? If you seek vengeance against another, you should dig two graves. Lets be honest, with all the ville things going on in the last few years, if the worst thing you can say about a man is he lied about changing jobs, maybe he isn’t so bad.

“his wife Terry is happy there” says a great deal. As a man who’s been married for 36 years, I can relate. When mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.
As for moon, you guys have to excuse him- he’s like that little boy in 2nd grade who torments that one, particular little girl . . . because he has an enormous crush on her. Moon has some issues we really don’t want to know about.

louhudson23 says:Dec 18, 2012 2:53 PM

I love to hear the Utah game rehashed. Seeing the Tide run off the field was painful. But I also know when I am watching a team play the game of their lives. It is the beauty of sport. Whether it is Villanova hitting everyththing they throw up against Georgetown back in the or the QB from Utah heave perfect throws time and time again to receivers who refused to do anything but make catches,it is inspiring to see players rise above their own abilities. They only play once in a Bowl game,so there is no two out of three,but only a fool would look for that lightning to strike twice…
Utah beat them fair and square.T A&M beat them this year fair and square,but I would have my money on the Tide in a rematch. Giving up 28 in the first 15 minutes and not scoring first and goal is not something any team should count on happening more than once. No excuses.Winner flies and loser cries. Roll Tide.

Deb says:Dec 18, 2012 6:58 PM

Hello, redvenomweb … you still around?

Yes, you’ve about gotten the gist of my comment now–although I’ve never found Ben naive. No, I don’t think Saban meant “I’m not going to Bama” when he said it. I think he meant “Shut up and leave me alone.”

My understanding from Bama people involved in making the offer is they approached his agent, but Saban said he couldn’t discuss an offer until the Dolphins season ended. If Bama couldn’t wait, so be it. At the time the press was asking about Bama, he didn’t know whether they’d wait or look elsewhere. But I think he knew that if the Bama job was still available, he’d take it.

I have no idea whether he wants to return to the NFL. But I know he can’t tip his hand while Bama is preparing for a title game. I fully expect him to insist he’s staying with the Tide no matter what he’s actually planning. If he indicated otherwise, I’d knock his head off.

redvenomweb says:Dec 18, 2012 10:05 PM

Deb, you can choose to believe that Saban is a habitual liar if you like. Ben apparently does not, and is taking him at his word: that Saban truly believed that he was not going to leave Miami when he said it, and changed his mind later.

If Saban was speaking honestly at the time (as he later claimed), then Ben was 100% correct in saying that “Saban wasn’t leaving Miami just before he was.” And just because YOU think it’s obvious that Saban was simply lying, that doesn’t make Ben’s statement wrong.

redvenomweb says:Dec 18, 2012 10:10 PM

Furthermore, I don’t even understand the point of your line of reasoning. You seem to be saying that *of course* we should presume that Saban is lying through his teeth when he says he’s not leaving, and that you personally would be upset if he did not lie in that situation.

So what, exactly, are you defending when you object to Ben’s characterization that Saban wasn’t leaving right before he was?

Deb says:Dec 18, 2012 11:35 PM

@redvenomweb …

When Nick said he wasn’t going to Alabama, he didn’t know what he was going to do, but I imagine he was pretty set on taking the Bama job if it was still available. So yeah, he lied to get the reporters off his back. Ben made a quip about the lie and I quipped back about the lie. And for some inexplicable reason you want to pick these two self-explanatory quips to death. Whatever.

Apparently many others on CFT live in an idyllic little world where everyone always does the right thing at the right time. I have a lot of faults, but fear of being honest isn’t one of them. When I was asked in an important job interview if I’d give a five-year commitment, I said I wouldn’t even give a one-year commitment. They hired me anyway. So if I’d been Nick, I would have told the reporters to piss off rather than lie to get them off my back. But that’s just me. However, unless we’ve had a press mob bearing down on us, it’s real easy for any of us to say what we think he should have done.

In the grownup world, you don’t always have the luxury of letting the cat out of the bag. That doesn’t make you a Big Fat Liar. It makes you prudent. You may know you’re planning to quit your job in six weeks, but you can’t tell your boss because you need those last few paychecks–and you can’t gamble that the boss won’t tell you to clear out ahead of schedule. If people don’t understand the reasoning in situations like that … well, they must be low on life experience.

Saban has a responsibility to get his team ready for the title game. He can’t let concern about losing their coach get into their heads. So no, I don’t care what he tells them as long as he keeps them focused on that game. Once he’s fulfilled his obligation to the team, he can do what he needs to do for his career and his family with my blessing.

If you don’t get that, then I can’t help you. I’m not the Magic Wisdom Fairy who dispenses universal comprehension with the flick of her wand.

I love these Irish fans that are ignorant enough to talk about Bama’s schedule. Lets see you almost got beat by Pittsburgh and who are they?? The Tide will Roll right over you on the way to our 3rd NC.